


The Delegation

by Vivien



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivien/pseuds/Vivien
Summary: A humanitarian delegation from Naboo arrives at Niima Outpost. Rey is skeptical, to say the least.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 44
Collections: To Find Your Kiss: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	The Delegation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aNerdObsessed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aNerdObsessed/gifts).



> The prompt that called to me was "Instead of going to live with Luke, Ben is sent away to his cousins on Naboo. He gets involved in politics and on a humanitarian trip to Jakku he meets Rey, who doesn't want 'help'" This could have - and perhaps should have - been just the beginning of something much longer, but I hope you enjoy this little piece. Thank you, thank you to Mer for her beta skills.

The desert air rushed past Rey as she guided her speeder into Niima Outpost. The air was blazing hot, but it cooled the sweat covering her skin, sweat built up from a long day of clambering through rusting metal hulks. As she came over the ridge that dropped down from the dunes into the plateau that hosted the sparse buildings of the outpost, she noticed a giant silver ship gleaming from the makeshift landing dock.

Huh.

She’d never seen such a fine, large ship docked at the outpost. Niima Outpost hosted midsized battered freighters, at most, usually loaded with contraband that would attract attention in other ports. Curiosity coiled within her, willing her to change direction, to ease her way through the unusually large crowd of people milling about the dockside of the outpost. But no, she didn’t have time for that. Not if she wanted to eat.

As she got closer to town, though, she realized that Unkar Plutt’s trading station was as empty of people as the landing dock was full. The steel shutters were closed over his booth, and Rey cursed. She’d only had a quarter portion the evening before, and her stomach was a hard knot of want. She ended up heading for the landing dock after all.

Rey pulled her speeder up to the fringe of the crowd and secured it there, dragging her net full of random parts and pieces from the day’s haul. She certainly wouldn’t be leaving her acquisitions alone; they would be sliced out of the net and spirited away before she could turn around. She spotted a cluster of fellow scavengers likewise burdened with goods ready for trade.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Not sure,” muttered an older man, scowling. 

“Never seen anything like this,” said a stooped old woman, leaning on her metal staff.

“Is that Plutt?” Rey asked, squinting into the distance.

It was the Blowfish himself, approaching the ship’s gangplank with a group of his favorite enforcers and enablers behind him at a respectful pace. Rey eeled through the crowd for a closer look, maneuvering through the astonished flotsam and jetsam of Niima Outpost with agility despite her burden. 

The ship was even more remarkable now that she could see it better. It was sleek, all silver and flowing lines, elegant in a way she didn’t know ships could be. Its occupants began descending the gangplank, and they were definitely like no other humans she’d ever seen. They were tall, pretty people, clean and fresh in crisp uniforms of jewel tones, walking before a tall, white-haired woman. The woman wore a dress of royal blue cloth so vivid it made Rey want to avert her eyes. It was an actual gown, like something from a holo. It had… feathers or fringes… or something Rey couldn’t identify as trim along the bottom of the skirt and ends of the sleeves. It was ridiculously impractical. The first people - guards, she thought, now that she saw the blasters in their hilts - approached Plutt, who…

Did Unkar Plutt actually bow? To another person? The guards had parted, and he was bowing to the woman who regarded him in a much kinder and more respectful way than he had ever regarded a denizen of the outpost.

She nodded, smiling, and nodded her head towards the lead guard. She gestured towards the top of the gangplank, and one shiny, unrusted droid after another began guiding floating crates down. More people appeared, following them and bustling past the elegant woman and her guards, who were now disembarked and deep in what seemed to be jovial conversation with Unkar Plutt and his toadies.

Then Rey saw him.

The tall human clad in black stepped out of the ship, his dark hair and darker gaze sweeping the crowd. He looked directly at her. Rey did not lower her eyes. She stared, hostile all of a sudden towards these people with all their finery. What were they doing here? Conducting some kind of business with Unkar Plutt, obviously, and anyone willingly doing business with Unkar Plutt when not in need of food or basic shelter and protection, well. Those weren’t people Rey wanted anything to do with.

Even strangely handsome men who looked at her like she was a vision shimmering in a mirage.

Especially strangely handsome men who looked at her like she was a vision shimmering in a mirage.

She glared at him, darted her eyes towards the woman, who was smiling kindly at Plutt as he spoke. Ugh. She’d had enough. She turned and dragged her net full of scavenge back to the outskirts of the crowd. Behind her, the droids delivered the crates, lining them up in rows. The tall man in black descended, standing behind the woman, as more uniformed workers streamed out of the ship and began opening the sealed crates and organizing the supplies contained within.

Another scavenger approached the older man and woman she’d first spoken to, and Rey huddled with them again.

“Tanna told Wiffern that this was a delegation of some kind,” said the young man who’d joined them.

“A delegation? What’s that?” grunted the older man.

The young man shrugged. “Rich offworlders from, oh, what was it - Naboo. Do-gooders trying to save our souls, no doubt.”

“Save us?” asked Rey. “How? By trying to sell us things we can’t afford to buy?”

The elderly woman shrugged. “Maybe they’re bringing us supplies. I’ve heard tell of that. Rich worlds aiding poor ones.”

Rey and the men scoffed. “They’re bringing someone supplies,” Rey said, nodding in Plutt’s direction, “but not to us. Do you know if Plutt’s opening back up? I need to trade for dinner.”

A surprised murmur went through the crowd and people shifted into queues before some of the strangers with their glistening droids and crates of riches. Rey watched, puzzled, and finally word spread from the front of the lines.

“Food!”

“They’ve brought food - giving it away for free!”

“No trades, no credits. Just… handing it over for nothing.”

“Go get your brother, run, get back in line, quickly.”

Rey frowned and she and her comrades regarded each other warily before one by one they drifted over to stand in line. Rey was the last holdout. She was suspicious, deeply suspicious, but she began seeing others from the front of the line passing her with more food in slim metal trays than Rey could recall seeing at one time. Her stomach growled, propelling her to join the queue.

She warily claimed her tray of rations from the attendant droid, and as she did, she glanced over to where Unkar Plutt stood, hobnobbing with the foreign guests. He sneered at her as she stepped away, clutching the food closely to her chest with one arm. The lady delegate did not notice, but the dark-haired man did, and he glanced Rey’s way, as well. She lowered her eyes, and dragged her spoils back to her speeder.

Once she was safely back at her fallen AT-AT, she peeled back the foil covering of the tray, and breathed in the scents of the cooling rations. The food was colorful, almost too pretty to eat. There were things she knew on sight were vegetables, and something kind of meat - or meat-like - loaf that made her mouth water. Some might turn up their noses at a prepared meal like this, but to Rey, each bite was a glorious new experience. It was probably the only time she’d ever get to have a meal like this; surely that sleek ship would be gone by tomorrow, and this all a memory, a dream of what life might be like anywhere else but here.

She scavenged as usual the next day. She’d buried her haul from the day before under the sand beneath one of the sprawling metal legs of her home; bringing it along would not have been practical, and leaving it on her speeder would have been a clear invitation for someone to nick it.

But after she dug it up once again to trade, she entered Niima Outpost in the late afternoon and was surprised to see that the ship was still there. New tent shelters had been erected on the outskirts of the settlement, and the crowd was still there, milling in more queues, waiting for whatever the generous strangers had on offer. Rey frowned. She didn’t understand how anyone would wish to come here, of all places, and help people for no reason. She remembered the savory tastes from her meal the night before and stamped down the temptation to seek out more offerings. She didn’t trust any of this. She had seen strangers come and go, getting entangled in schemes that hurt people - and eventually themselves. She wouldn’t be fooled, lured into whatever was going on with this nonsense.

She also didn’t wish to dwell on what it would be like to be treated like this on a day to day basis. It was better not to wish for things you couldn’t have.

The cleaning station was nearly empty, like everyone was on a holiday. She supposed they were. She couldn’t afford the luxury. She scrubbed up the items she’d scavenged earlier and from the day before, intent on following her routine. Unkar Plutt’s stall was open, even though there were far fewer waiting in his line than the delegations.

The dark-haired man was there, too, scowling as he stood behind Plutt with his arms crossed. Rey ignored him. But when she got to the counter and Plutt greeted her with a sing-song voice of politeness that she’d never heard, she glanced at him, confused, as Plutt gave her the first fair trade she’d received from him, well, ever. She grabbed her portions, muttered thank you, which surprised her more than it surprised Plutt, and scurried back towards her speeder.

The dark-haired man, hastily striding after her on long legs, intercepted her before she could make her escape.

“What do you want?” she demanded, bringing up her staff into a defensive posture. 

“Nothing,” the man said, holding up his palms and stepping back. ‘Why didn’t you stop at the feeding station?”

She scoffed. “Because I’m not getting sucked into whatever you’ve got going on here with Plutt.”

He nodded, frowning. “What’s his story? We thought he was the elected leader of the outpost, but that’s obviously not the case.”

Rye couldn’t stop the surprised laugh that burst forth. “Who told you he was?”

He ducked his head, his frown deepening. 

“What are you even doing here?” she persisted.

“We’re a humanitarian delegation. We represent the New Republic and provide aid to the settlements in the Outer Rim that need it most.”

“Why? Why bother?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Rey shook her head in disbelief. “You’re mad. The minute you leave, things will go back to how they’ve always been. Whatever you’ve brought for the people here will be snatched up and sold to the highest bidder. The ‘settlement’ won’t benefit, but Plutt and his lackeys certainly will.”

“So what would you have us do? Ignore you all? Leave you to your fate?”

She shrugged, confused. “I don’t know why you’d bother, that’s all. You’re from somewhere that’s wonderful, where you get food when you want it; why bother leaving at all?”

He stood up tall, raising his chin defiantly. “Because it’s the right thing to do,” he stated again, firm in his conviction. “We have plenty on Naboo, why wouldn’t we want to share with those who don’t?”

“Look, I don’t know who you are or why you’re-”

He interrupted. “I’m Ben. Senator Ben Solo. If we shouldn’t bother helping you and your people, I’d like to know why, exactly.”

“Look, Senator, you can do what you like. All I’m saying is that nothing will change here, no matter how kind and giving you are. We’re all stuck, but you can go wherever you’d like, whenever you’d like, and I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time on us.”

He frowned again, his gaze intensely upon her. “How long have you been here? Rey, right? That’s what Plutt called you.”

“Right,” she said, turning her back to him to mount her speeder. “I’m going home to eat and rest. I’ve been out scavenging since dawn, and I’m exhausted. ” She shook her head in annoyance and started the engine. “Great to meet you,” she said with a tone of voice that made it clear that it was not.

“What would change things, Rey? What would have to happen?”

She stared at him as if he’d grown two heads. Then she lowered her makeshift goggles over her eyes. “Maybe if you stayed, then things could be different.” 

She started the engine and peeled away from the strange man, muttering under her breath “As if that would happen.”.

Rey had so much food from the unusually generous trade that she did something the next day that she rarely had the luxury to do: she took the day off. It was a special treat to keep her body cool and shaded, out of the fierce sun, and away from the sharp steel of the gargantuan ruins she scaled day after day. And she allowed herself to think about Senator Ben Solo and his expressive face and insistence on providing aid to others, just because he could. Such a strange thing to do.

The next day, though, she was back to her usual routine, and he was far away from her thoughts. She scavenged the day away, gathered her finds, and hauled them into Niima Outpost. The tents were still there, but the shining ship was gone. Rey shook her head. She knew it was too good to last for long. 

She dragged her heavy net behind her as she headed towards the cleaning station.

And that’s when she saw Senator Ben Solo step out from one of the tents. He gave her a wave and a wry smile.

To her great surprise, she returned it.


End file.
